Several attempts within the art relating to disposable absorbent articles have been made to enhance the fit of the article to the wearer. A better fitting article provides more comfort for the wearer and can be adapted to isolate waste materials from the skin of the wearer. Fecal material which contacts the skin is often a source of epidermal irritation and makes cleaning of the wearer more difficult.
An attempt to overcome these problems is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,662,877 issued to Williams, May 5, 1987, which discloses a diaper having a urine impervious facing sheet with an aperture to allow waste materials to pass through the facing sheet into the absorbent portion of the diaper. The diaper has elastic strands in the facing sheet to urge it away from the underlying absorbent structure. However, Williams teaches applying the elastic strands longitudinally adjacent the large and convexly rectangular aperture. This arrangement makes sealing around the leg openings more difficult, and does not provide for alignment of the aperture relative to the anal opening.